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Small Arms Wound Ballistics by Nathan Foster Book Review
Small Arms Wound Ballistics
A Graphic Guide For Military, Police & Medical Personnel
Nathan Foster
Terminal Ballistics Research Sept 2019
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This book depicts the terminal ballistic characteristics of a number of selected cartridges. The intended readership is military, police and medical personnel. Therefore, the cartridges selected are primarily those used in military rifles and handguns. Of interest to the hunter will be the analysis of: 22LR, .223, 7.62x39, 308, 6.5 Creedmore, 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua Mag. Likewise, the bullets tested are those commonly used in military and law enforcement, rather than for hunting. A major theme is the factors affecting tumbling and bullet instability within the body and the relatively modest increase in lethality achieved by increasing kinetic energy alone. There is one frangible match bullet covered, which does appear well suited for deer hunting as we know it in New Zealand. But this is not a comparison of even a part of the range of hunting ammunition available here. That is the main limitation of this work’s interest to New Zealand hunters.
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The first section has a very excellent review of bullet construction and its’ effect on wounding and lethality. This is well worth reading, even if you have little interest in most of the cartridges or military type bullets described further on.
Another coffee table book ?
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The main content is a library of photos showing wounding caused by each cartridge, mostly in feral goats but in some cases wild pigs. Access to this resource, and Nathan’s boundless enthusiasm and meticulous approach are the foundations of this substantial work. The photos show bullet wounds, many with clinical, standardised block dissections of the heart and lungs and also entry and exit wounds viewed from within the chest cavity, to enable comparisons. It is highly educational, but I don’t recommend reading this late in the evenings – it doesn’t make for sweet dreams.
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The book is beautifully produced, in a large hardback format on very high quality glossy paper and the technical quality of the photographs is second to none. This would withstand a lot of use in a professional library. This book may be of marginal value to many hunters but will be a reference for those with a professional interest in firearms and forensics.
